Library 

OF  THE 

University  of  NortK  Carolina 

This  book  was  presented  by  the  family 
of  the  late 

KEMP  PLUMMER  BATTLE,  '49 

President  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
from  1876  to  1890 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368 


f 


t 


THE 


ORIGIN  AND  GENEALOGY 


OF 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY 


As  Far  as  Heard  from  up  to  This 
Date,  1890. 


COMPILED  BY 

Ay 

Leonidas  Hilary  Yeargan,    and     Hilary  H.  L.  Yeargan,  M.D., 

Of  New  York,  Of  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 


PRINTED  FOR  THE  COMPILERS. 
PUBLISHING  HOUSE  OF  THE  M.  E.  CHURCH,  SOUTH. 
Bakbee  &  Smith,  Agents,  Nashville,  Tenn. 
1891. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/origingenealogyo58year 


PREFACE. 


By  the  personal  efforts  of  Leonidas  Hilary  Year- 
gan  and  Hilary  H.  L.  Yeargan,  two  second-cous- 
ins, who  are  the  great-grandsons  of  the  original 
Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  these  memoirs  have  been 
obtained. 

In  getting  up  the  facts  in  regard  to  our  family  in 
America,  I  had  doubts  as  to  whether  the  Rev.  An- 
drew Yeargan  was  the  only  representative  of  our 
family.  These  doubts  are  not  yet  entirely  removed, 
but  from  all  the  testimony  of  the  family  now  living, 
and  what  I  learned  traditionally  from  my  father, 
Bartlett  Yeargan,  who  was  a  grandson  of  Rev. 
Andrew  Yeargan,  and  in  addition,  having  a  record 
of  my  grandfather,  Benjamin  Yeargan' s  Bible, 
placing  himself  as  the  second  and  his  children  as 
the  third  from  the  original  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan, 
etc.  As  further  proof,  George  W.  Yeargan,  of 
Dyersburg,  Tenn.,  has  in  his  possession  the  Bible 
of  Benjamin  Yeargan,  who  was  a  direct  son  of  the 
original  Andrew,  and  as  further  proof  of  these 
facts,  I  have  received  a  well-written  letter  from  J. 
W.  Yeargan,  of  South  Carolina,  a  great-grandson 


4  THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 

of  the  Rev.  Andrew,  who  states  that  his  father. 
Gideon  Yeargan,  now  living,  is  a  grandson  of  the 
original  i\ndrew  Yeargan,  and  that  Gideon's 
father,  Bartlett,  was  a  direct  son  of  the  old 
pioneer  Andrew.  The  tradition  as  received  of  my 
father,  Bartlett  Yeargan,  a  grandson,  and  what  I 
learn  from  Gideon  Yeargan,  a  present  living  grand- 
son of  the  Rev.  Andrew,  and  the  information  re- 
ceived of  George  W.  Yeargan  and  from  my  grand- 
father's old  family  Bible,  and  the  many  letters  that 
I  have  received  from  a  large  number  of  the  Year- 
gan family,  scattered  from  Wilmington,  N.  C,  to 
Oregon,  all  go  to  prove  the  identity  of  descent  from 
the  Rev.  Andrew.        Hilary  H.  L.  Yeargan. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY 


The  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan  came  from  Wales 
about  the  year  1735,  and  settled  in  Virginia,  then  a 
young  man  of  fine  appearance,  of  the  purest  Cau- 
casian type,  and  more  than  ordinary  educational 
attainments  for  that  age,  and  as  was  the  custom  of 
that  period  of  business  and  moral  habits,  sought 
the  hand  of  Miss  Ony  Bowles  and  was  married 
and  went  into  business  earnestly  and  successfully, 
carrying  out  the  scriptural  injunction  ("  diligent  in 
business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord  "  )  req- 
uisite for  a  busy  and  holy  life.  He  proved  suc- 
cessful in  all  the  business  avocations  of  life,  crown- 
ing the  glory  of  his  manhood  with  a  large  family  of 
ten  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  Rev.  Andrew's 
field  of  labor  as  a  minister  was  in  the  Roanoke  and 
James  River  Valley  of  Virginia,  where  he  and  his 
sons  filled  many  useful  positions  of  trust  and  honor 
during  the  stormy  period  of  the  Revolution  of  1776. 
We  next  find  him  with  his  horse  and  Bible  as  a 
minister  nursing  young  Methodism. 

Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan 

raised  ten  sons  and  one  daughter — namely: 
Andrew,  Jarratt  F.,  Bartlett, 

John,  Edward,  Williams, 

Samuel,  James,  Sarah. 

Benjamin,  Devereaux, 


6 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


According  to  the  published  Minutes  of  the  Meth- 
odist Conference,  held  at  Fluvanna,  May  18,  1779, 
we  find  Andrew  Yeargan  one  of  the  Examining 
Committee  to  ascertain  the  fitness  of  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  and  in  that  year  he  and  William 
More  traveled  the  Tar  River  Circuit,  and  in  1780 
(April  24,  Conference  held  at  Baltimore)  we  find 
Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan  pastor  of  the  Yadkin  Cir- 
cuit. The  number  of  ministers  in  the  Methodist 
Conference  at  that  date  was  forty-two;  laymen, 
eight  thousand  live  hundred  and  four.  Whether 
he  continued  to  preach  or  located,  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing  at  this  date.  In  this  connec- 
tion, about  1770,  we  notice  the  influence  of  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  having  been  exerted  as 
probably  a  local  preacher  for  some  eight  years  in 
Virginia,  and  so  impressed  the  builders,  especially 
Mr.  Wright,  a  minister  who  was  appointed  by  John 
Wesley,  who  was  working  under  the  auspices  of 
Francis  Asbury,  that  the  first  Methodist  chapel 
ever  built  in  Virginia  was  named  Yeargan' s  Chap- 
el. See  A.  B.  Hyde's  "Story  of  Methodism," 
page  33,  published  1887.  A.  B.  Hyde  spells  this 
first  chapel  in  Virginia  4 '  Yeargan' s."  We  think 
he  is  incorrect,  and  should  be  "  Yearg^n's. 

We  here  lose  sight  of  Andrew  Yeargan  and  his 
wife,  Ony  Bowles,  the  fact  being  he  had  descend- 
ed into  the  pine  forest  of  North  Carolina  and  was 
riding  respectively  the  circuits  of  Tar  River  and 
Yadkin,  the  first  of  his  kind. 

We  here  pause  to  take  a  view  of  this  wonderful 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


7 


movement  of  the  human  mind — one  of  the  most 
wonderful  of  all  God's  movements  of  the  human 
mind  in  religious  direction,  resulting  in  the  com- 
plete equipment  and  organization  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  denomination  of  Christians.  During 
these  thirty  or  forty  years,  the  formative  period  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  these  early 
preachers  traversed  every  neighborhood  of  every 
colony,  discussing  and  claiming  their  right  to  ad- 
minister the  ordinances  of  the  religion  they 
preached,  culminating  in  their  meeting  at  Fluvan- 
na, Va.,  where  by  a  vote  of  18  out  of  27  (9  not 
voting)  they  called  for  a  committee,  who  were  to 
ordain  each  other,  and  so  their  successors,  thus 
providing  for  religious  independence,  and  preced- 
ing the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
who  severed  the  civil  and  political  relations  of  the 
colonies  and  Great  Britain.  By  this  act  they  like- 
wise deserve  to  be  held  in  imperishable  remem- 
brance. Prominent  among  these  eighteen  was  Rev. 
Andrew  Yeargan,  twenty  years  in  advance  of  the 
Wesleys,  who  followed  them  with  their  sanction 
after  the  establishment  of  an  independent  nation. 
Thus  was  born  into  Time  twins,  and  on  this  West- 
ern Continent:  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  the  United  States  of  America. 

Early  in  the  present  century  we  find  Rev.  An- 
drew and  Ony  Bowles  in  Greenville,  S.  C,  living 
with  Devreux,  their  son,  in  which  county  they  were 
buried  after  living  long  lives  of  usefulness.  Our 
present  purpose  is  to  show  up  the  identity  and  con- 


THE  YE  ARC,  AN  FAMILY. 


nection  of  the  descendants  of  the  Rev.  Andrew's 
ten  sons,  and  to  group  them  into  families  as  thev 
began  to  spread  abroad  in  the  land.  Two  of  these 
sons.  Benjamin  and  Jarratt  Fletcher,  settled  in 
Chapel  Hill.  X.  C.  The  elder  son.  Benjamin,  and 
Jarratt  F.  Yeargan  were  leaders  among  those  who 
originated  the  University  of  Chapel  Hill.  X.  C. 
Benjamin  Yeargan  donating  the  land  in  part,  per- 
haps all  of  it.  and  was  among  its  rirst  trustees  His 
house  was  the  home  of  such  students  as  James  K. 
Polk,  Thomas  Benton.  Judge  Battle,  the  father  of 
the  present  President  of  the  university,  and  many 
others  of  national  fame.  Benjamin  Yeargan  was 
assistant  surgeon  in  the  last  Years  of  the  Revolu- 
tion,  and  then  married  the  widow  of  Tafply  Pat- 
terson, whose  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Morgan. 
She  raised  three  Patterson  children — viz..  Mann. 
Page,  and  Amelia.  With  her  second  husband.  Ben- 
jamin Yeargan.  she  raised  four  children — viz.; 

1.  Charlotte  Hinton.  born  September  25.  17S3. 

2.  Mark  Morgan  (  one  of  the  rirst  among  the 
graduates  of  the  University  of  X.  C.  ).  born  Sep- 
tember 2.  1785. 

3.  Harriet,  born  November  19.  1787. 

4.  Bartlett.  born  February  iS.  1790. 

Kentucky  Group. 

Charlotte  Hinton,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Year- 
gan,  and  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Andrew  Year- 
U*an.  was  born  in  Orange  County.  N.  C  Septem- 
ber 25,  1783.  She  was  married  to  Hugh  Nunn  in 
iSoljr and  raised  six  children  as  follows: 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


9 


Sarah  C, 
David  Nunn, 
Elizabeth, 


Hugh  N., 


Susan  L. 


Mary  Fletcher. 


Sarah  C.  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1805  ; 
married  Enoch  Randolph  on  Sept.  1,  1825;  and 
died  Feb.  3,  1881.    Her  children  are  as  follows: 

Hugh  Nunn  Randolph,  the  eldest,  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

Hugh  Powhatan,  second  son  of  Sarah  C,  was 
born  September  23,  1827;  and  married  Elizabeth 
Barbee  June  28,  1855.  They  have  two  daughters, 
Mrs.  Duvall  and  Mrs.  Waller,  now  living  in 
Northwestern  Missouri. 

John  D.  Randolph,  son  of  Sarah  C,  was  born 
March  28,  1829.  He  was  married  to  Matilda 
Powell,  June  5,  1855  ;  and  died  in  Pemiscot  Coun- 
ty, Missouri,  September  19,  1868.  He  left  a  widow 
and  three  children,  all  grown  and  married. 

Enoch  F.  Randolph,  son  of  Sarah  C,  was  born 
December  16,  1830.  He  was  drowned  April  3, 
1858.    He  left  no  family. 

Charlotte  L.,  daughter  of  Sarah  C,  was  born 
February  13,  1832.  She  was  married  December 
30,  1847,  to  Sanford  Thurman,  of  Ohio;  and  died 
July  12,  1851.    She  left  a  son,  Henry  Clay. 

Cornelious  M.,  son  of  Sarah  C,  was  born 
March  8,  1834.  He  married  Rebecca  Whitman 
July  16,  1858;  and  died  May  28,  1868.  He  left  a 
widow  and  four  children;  the  eldest,  Mrs.  Ad- 
die  Bass. 

Virginia  A.,  daughter  of  Sarah  C,  was  born 


IO 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


x\pril  3,  1836.  She  was  married  Dec.  22,  1858, 
1858,  to  Samuel  J.  Howard;  and  died  Dec.  11, 
1866.    She  left  two  sons:  James  W.  and  Samuel  J. 

Ilia  Nunn,  son  of  Sarah  C,  was  born  Aug.  25, 
1838.  He  married  Matha  Cummins  Feb.  2,  1864. 
They  have  two  children,  son  and  daughter. 
The  daughter  is  married  and  has  two  children. 

Columbus  Randolph,  son  of  Sarah  C,  was 
born  December  12,  1840.  He  married  Lizzie 
Moore  November  27,  1866;  and  died  February 
27,  1889.  He  left  a  widow  with  two  children,  son 
and  daughter,  both  infants. 

Susan  Mary,  daughter  of  Sarah  C,  was  born 
February  9,  1843:  and  married  John  B.  Millet,  a 
native  of  France,  November  18,  1863.  They 
have  two  children:  Sarah  and  Enoch. 

Samuel  W.,  son  of  Sarah  C,  was  born  Febru- 
ary 18,  1845.  He  married  Mattie  Moore  in  1870, 
and  again  to  Mattie  Posey,  in  1878,  by  whom  he 
has  five  children,  three  girls  and  two  boys. 

Paul,  son  of  Sarah  C,  was  born  October  16, 
1848.  He  was  married  to  Mary  Gregory  Febru- 
ary 22,  1870;  and  died  April  17,  1885.  He  left  a 
widow  with  three  children. 

David  Nunn,  the  second  child  of  Charlotte 
Hinton,  married  Miss  Jane  Shelby,  daughter  of 
Aaron  Shelby,  by  whom  was  born  eight  children: 

Shelby,  Sarah,  Mary, 

David,  Emma,  Maria. 

Henry,  Annah, 
All  are  dead  but  three:  Shelby,  Sarah,  and  Mary. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


II 


Elizabeth,  the  third  child  of  Charlotte  Hinton, 
was  married  to  Whitfield  Agnew.  They  have  six 
children,  all  living  but  one.    Their  names  are: 

Walter  Agnew,         Isabella  Book,  <- 

Susan  Beckham,      Virginia  McClahan, 

Emily  Galloway,      Polina,  who  died  single. 

Susan  L.,  the  fourth  child  of  Charlotte  Hinton, 
was  married  to  William  T.  Harbert.  Both  are 
dead.  They  left  three  children:  Charlotte  C, 
Thomas,  and  Dillias  D.  All  are  living  but  the 
daughter,  who  left  quite  a  large  family. 

Hugh  N.,  the  fifth  child  of  Charlotte  Hinton, 
was  married  three  times.  His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Leuna  Hancock,  by  whom  he  had  six  children,  all 
dead.  His  second  wife  was  a  widow  Spencer,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children ;  Charlotte  and  Mark 
Yeargan,  both  of  whom  are  married.  His  third 
wife  was  a  Miss  Moseley,  an  old  maid,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children:  Susan  and  Silas.  Both  mar- 
ried and  have  families. 

Mary  Fletcher,  the  sixth  child  of  Charlotte 
Hinton,  was  born  in  January,  1822;  and  was  mar- 
ried about  1842  to  Mr.  John  Hicks.  They  raised 
three  children:  Hilary,  Powhatan,  and  Jeffie.  All 
are  dead  except  Jeffie.  Hilary,  the  firstborn,  was  a 
soldier,  and  died  in  a  Northern  prison.  Her  hus- 
band, John  Hicks,  died  about  1881.  Jeffie  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Pierce. 

Mark  Morgan  Yeargan  married  Miss  Catherine 
Loftin  on  March  2,  1806,  and  settled  in  Hender- 
son,  Ky.,  and  raised  a  family  of  nine  children. 


12 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY'. 


Mark  Morgan  and  Catherine  Loftin  Yeargan' s 
children  were : 

Elizabeth,  born  May  12,  1808. 

Amelia  Patterson,  born  July  16,  1810. 

William  Bartlett,  born  June  26,  181 2. 

Joseph  Fletcher,  born  January  2.  1814. 

Sarah  Catherine,  born  August  10,  1816. 

Francis  Jane,  born  June  23.  1818. 

Charlotte  Hinton,  born  October  26.  1821. 

Benjamin  Wesley,  born  May  28,  1825. 

Martha  Alston,  born  September  4.  1827. 

William  Bartlett  Yeargan.  son  of  Mark  Morgan 
Yeargan,  married  Miss  Nancy  Thelbert  Crenshaw « 
in  Henderson,  Ky.,  July  19.  1832.  The  names  of 
his  children  were : 

William  Henry,  born  July  13,  1833. 

Joseph  Ethelbert.  born  July  13,  1835. 

Mark  Morgan,  born  August  16,  1838. 

George  Washington,  born  October  23,  1840. 

Mary  J.  Elizabeth,  born  June  26,  1842. 

Permelia  Ann,  born  June  11.  1845. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  born  August  16,  1848,  was 
married  to  Katie  E.  Coolidge  March  10,  1885. 
His  children  were:  Litta  Miller,  born  October  24, 
1886:  Bertie  Thomas,  born  January  8,  1889. 

John  Suader,  born  May  26,  185 1. 

Sarah  Shaplw  born  December  15,  1854,  was 
married  to  James  B.  Finley  July  3,  1873.  Her 
children  were:  Clara  Alice,  born  July  9,  1874; 
E\a  Morgan,  born  June  17.  1877;  Elmo  Yeargan, 
born  February  4,  1888. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


13 


Nancy  T.  Crenshaw,  wife  of  William  Bartlett, 
was  born  March  5,  j8ii. 

Dr.  George  W.  Yeargan,  son  of  William  Bart- 
lett Yeargan,  was  born  October  23,  1840:  was 
married  to  Mary  A.  C.  Leroy,  at  Dyersburg,  Tenn., 
December  30,  1862.    His  children  were: 

Joseph  Echols  Yeargan,  born  November  1,  1865. 

Mary  Ann  Yeargan,  born  June  1,  1868. 

William  Edgar  Yeargan,  born  September  24, 
1870. 

George  Vesta  Yeargan,  born  April  27,  1873. 

Fannie  Bartlett  Yeargan,  born  February  2,  1876. 

Guy  Warren  Yeargan,  born  July  8,  1880. 

Thomas  Henry  Yeargan,  born  June  24,  1883. 

Cyrus  Crenshaw  Yeargan,  born  July  24,  1886. 

Mary  A.  C.  Leroy,  wife  of  George  W.  Year- 
gan, and  mother  of  the  above-named  children,  was 
born  August  17,  1845. 


Tennessee  Group. 

I  now  proceed  to  notice  Bartlett  Yeargan,  brother 
of  Mark  Morgan,  and  son  of  Benjamin,  and  grand- 
son of  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  the  original  head  of 
our  family  in  America. 

Bartlett  Yeargan  was  born  February  18,  1790, 
at  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C;  and  in  1812  settled  in  Wil- 
liamson County,  Tenn.  Accompanying  him  wrere 
his  negroes;  among  them  his  confidential  servant, 
Peter.  He  could  read  and  write ;  had  learned 
this  at  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  as  early  as  181 2,  show- 


T4 


THE   YEARGAX  FAMILY 


ing  it  was  common  to  teach  slaves  to  read  and 
write,  nor  did  it  interfere  with  his  faithfuluess  or 
efficiency.  On  this  Tennessee  plantation  the  own- 
er kept  a  record  in  his  family  Bible  of  the  births 
and  deaths  of  all  his  slaves,  and  every  negro  fam- 
ilv  had  their  Bible:  some  member  could  read  it. 
These  rules  and  customs  were  in  force  fifty  years 
before  the  fanatical  war  waged  for  negro  emanci- 
patio n,  and  are  not  only  important  as  personal 
reminiscences,  but  as  historical  facts.  In  the  heat 
and  crisis  of  that  war.  another  slave  belonging 
to  this  family  furnished  another  beautiful  illustra- 
tion of  the  existing  relation  of  master  and  negro: 
Jim  Yeargan.  now  a  respected  citizen  of  Murfrees- 
boro.  Tenn..  remained  at  home  during  all  the  oc- 
cupancy of  the  country  and  citv  of  Murfreesboro 
by  the  Northern  Arm  v.  and  when  E.  B.  Yeargan, 
belonging  to  Forrest's  command,  came  home  at 
anv  time.  Jim  Yeargan  would  go  to  Murfreesboro. 
inside  the  enemy's  lines,  and  get  anv  article  wanted, 
and  at  one  time  carried  as  much  as  eight  hundred 
dollars  out  of  the  city  to  his  master,  and  had  a 
hundred  opportunities  of  giving  information  to  the 
enemy,  but  never  once  did  so. 

In  1S13  Bartlett  Yeargan  married  a  Miss  Mary 
A.  Lawrence,  an  only  daughter  of  Edmund  Law- 
rence and  Sarah  Lanier,  an  English  family,  and 
raised  twelve  children,  as  follows: 

Sarah  Morgan.  Nathan  A.  F.. 

Marv  Sumner.  Amelia  Charlotte. 

Hilary  H.  L..  Susan  Onv  Wesley. 


HILARY  H.  L.  YEARGAN,  M.D. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


15 


Rebecca  Hester,  Clementine  M., 

Martha  Ann,  Edmund  Bartlett, 

Joanna  Rachel,  Benjamin  Andrew. 

Sarah  Morgan  was  born  in  July,  1814.  She  was 
married  to  Lewis  M.  Grigg,  and  raised  two  chil- 
dren: Joseph  M.  Grigg,  who  married  a  Miss  Mag- 
gie Acuff ;  and  Sue  F.  F.  Grigg,  who  married  Rev. 
O.  B.  Caldwell. 

Mary  Sumner  was  born  November  13,  1817, 
and  in  1832  married  Thomas  Sims  and  raised  the 
following  children: 

Sarah  Jane,  Fannie  S., 

Lewis  S.,  Charlotte  A., 

Mansfield  R.,  Jennie  B., 

E.  Bartlett,  Fruzanna  R., 

Nicholas  H.,  Thomas  H., 

Mary  E.,  Alexander  T. 

Hilary  H.  L.  Yeargan,  born  May  29,  1820,  was 
a  graduate  of  Transylvania  University,  Lexington, 
Ky.,  class  term  1846;  married  Miss  E.  F.  Jarrett, 
of  Rutherford  County,  Tenn.,  January  12,  1848. 
They  raised  six  children — viz.: 

Sarah  E.,  Robert  Andrew, 

Samuel  Bartlett,  Marietta  A., 

Mark  Sullivan,  Benjamin  Thomson  H. 

Sarah  E.  was  born  November  10,  1848.  She 
was  married  first  to  E.  W.  Brooks;  again  to  Foun- 
tain P.  Love.    They  have  raised  no  children. 

Prof.  Samuel  Bartlett  Yeargan,  son  of  H.  H.  L. 
Yeargan,  and  grandson  of  Bartlett  Yeargan,  and 
great-grandson  of  Benjamin  Yeargan,  and  great- 


i6 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


great-grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  was  born 
August  7,  1850;  and  was  married  to  Miss  Tinie 
Reagan  in  December,  1885 .  They  have  three  chil- 
dren— namely:  Marie,  Beatrice,  and  Lawrence 
Reagan. 

Mark  Sullivan,  son  of  H.  H.  L.  and  E.  F.  Year- 
gan, was  born  June  18,  1852. 

Robert  Andrew  was  born  July  9<  1854;  and  in 
September,  1890,  married  Miss  Hattie  T.  Arnold, 
and  has  one  child:  Clinton  Edwin. 

Marietta  A.,  daughter  of  H.  H.  L.  and  E.  F. 
Yeargan,  was  born  November  19,  1856;  and  mar- 
ried Dr.  D.  C.  Huff  in  December,  1880.  They 
have  three  children,  as  follows:  Anna  Leland, 
Marietta,  and  Charley  McLester. 

Benjamin  Thompson  H.,  son  of  H.  H.  L.  and 
E.  F.  Yeagan,  was  born  August  29,  1862. 

Nathan  A.  F.  Yeargan,  son  of  Bartlett  and  Mary 
A.  Yeargan,  and  great-grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew 
Yeargan,  was  born  December  24,  1821 ;  and  mar- 
ried Miss  Charlotte  Davis  in  November,  1844. 
The  children  are  as  follows : 

Henry  Bartlett  was  born  in  November,  1845,  and 
died  in  fourteen  months. 

John  Hinton,  the  eldest  son  of  Nathan  A.  and 
Charlotte  S.  Yeargan,  was  born  July  29,  1847,  in 
Rutherford  County,  Tenn. ;  went  to  Texas  in  1854; 
was  married  November  23,  1881,  to  Mattie  V. 
Bumpass.  She  was  born  in  1863,  also  a  native  of 
Tennessee.  They  moved  to  Texas  in  1871.  They 
have  three  children: 


THE  YEARGAN   FAMILY.  I  7 

Charles  Francis,  born  August  29,  1882. 

Elva  Elizabeth,  born  October  15,  1884. 

John  Hinton,  Jr.,  born  July  9,  1891. 

Jennie  Elizabeth,  oldest  daughter  of  N.  A.  and 
C.  S.  Yeargan,  was  born  May  24,  1849,  anc^  was 
married  to  William  Rogers  February  8,  1870.  She 
had  five  children,  four  sons  and  one  daughter — viz. : 

Charley  Brantz,  Willie  Frank, 

Nathan  Bartlett,  Charlotte  Virginia. 

Edward, 

Powel  Benjamin,  the  third  child,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 14,  1850,  and  was  married  to  May  Webb 
December  24,  1890. 

Thomas  Randol  was  born  July  27,  1852;  and 
was  married  to  Mattie  Gill  December  19,  1883. 
They  have  three  children:  Jessie  Owen,  Thomas 
Lloyd,  and  Charley  Gill. 

William  Nathan  was  born  January  12,  1854;  an<^ 
died  February  13,  1880. 

Sarah  Ann  was  born  April  18,  1856,  and  was 
married  to  Rev.  W.  R.  Manning  (a  Methodist 
minister)  December  23,  1879.  They  have  four 
children:  Pearl,  Blanche,  Ben,  and  Bessie. 

Mary  Emma  was  born  January  7,  1858,  and  was 
married  to  Thomas  Eads  September  23,  1883. 
They  have  two  children :  Lucy  Irwin  and  William. 

Edmund  Davis  was  born  December  4,  1859,  anc^ 
was  married  to  Susan  Richard  December  15,  1886. 
They  have  three  children :  Sam,  Edwin,  and  Grace. 

Charlotte  Fruzanna  was  born  September  24, 
1862. 

2 


i8 


THE  YEARGAX  FAMILY. 


Alice  Irene  was  born  February  21.  1865  ;  and 
died  July  26,  1865. 

Henry  Fletcher  was  born  November  17,  1867. 

Edmund  Bartlett  Yeargan,  third  son  of  Bartlett 
and  Mary  A.  Yeargan,  was  born  October  22,  1832  ; 
and  married  Martha  America  Jarratt,  daughter  of 
Thompson  and  Elmira  Jarratt,  December  23,  1857, 
and  raised  the  following  children : 

Thompson  Bartlett,         Lawrence  Dodd, 

Leila  Anna,  Hilarv  Felix  Hill. 

Lizzie,  Rebeccah  Charlotte. 

Fruzanna  J., 

Thompson  Bartlett  was  born  October  5,  1858: 
and  married  Sallie  P.  Featherston  December  24, 
1885.  Thev  have  two  children:  Nadine  Scales 
and  Oliver. 

Leila  Anna  was  born  February  27,  1861 :  and 
married  J.  Robert  Page  November  12,  1885.  She 
died  July  6,  1888,  leaving  an  infant  eight  months 
old,  which  died  one  week  later. 

Lizzie  was  born  August  19,  1862  ;  and  graduated 
at  Soule  Female  College.  She  was  married  to 
James  E.  Tarpley  December  2,  1886.  They  have 
one  child:  Yeargan  T.  Tarpley. 

Fruzanna  J.  was  born  November  15,  1866;  and 
married  Alford  R.  Snell  September  9,  1888.  They 
have  one  child:  Fred  Woods. 

Lawrence  Dodd  was  born  April  13,  1869. 

Hilarv  Felix  Hill  was  born  December  2,  1872. 

Rebeccah  Charlotte  was  born  June  4,  1874. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY.  19 

Amelia  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Bartlett  and  Mary 
A.  Yeargan,  was  born  in  1824  and  died  in  1828. 

Susan  Ony  Wesley,  daughter  of  Bartlett  and 
Mary  A.  Yeargan,  was  born  in  October,  1827  ;  and 
married  to  Maj.  James  M.  Johnson  in  November, 
1844.  They  raised  three  children,  viz.:  Rev.  B. 
H.  Johnson,  Josiah  Bartlett,  Mattie  A. 

Rev.  B.  H.  Johnson,  of  the  Tennessee  Metho- 
dist Conference,  first  married  Miss  Mattie  Shef- 
field in  1869,  having  four  children:  Clarissa,  Eph- 
raim,  Maud,  and  Bennie.  His  second  wife  was 
Miss  Julia  Neblett,  who  has  one  child. 

Josiah  Bartlett,  son  of  James  M.  Johnson,  was 
born  in  July,  185 1,  and  married  Miss  Hattie  Dob- 
bins in  1882.  They  have  four  children:  Aleck, 
Leila,  Fannie,  and  Lennie  C. 

Mattie  A.,  daughter  of  James  M.  Johnson,  was 
born  in  March,  1854;  an(^  married  Littleton  Fuller 
in  1874.    They  have  one  child:  Lavalla. 

Rebecca  Hester,  daughter  of  Bartlett  and  Mary 
A.  Yeargan,  was  born  July  15,  1830;  and  married 
A.  H  Bass  in  November,  1850.  They  raised  three 
children:  Sarah  Jane,  Jim  Bartlett,  and  Bennie 
A.  Sarah  Jane  married  B.  F.  Swain,  who  have 
two  children:  Sallie  B.  and  Martha  R.  Bennie 
A.  Bass  married  Addie  Randolph. 

Martha  Ann,  daughter  of  Bartlett  and  Mary  A. 
Yeargan,  was  born  September  23,  1835;  married 
Josephus  A.  Johnson  in  January,  1853,  and  raised 
one  son:  William  Thomas. 

Joanna  Rachel,  daughter  of  Bartlett  and  Mary 


20 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


A.  Yeargan,  was  born  August  28,  1837.  She  was 
married  to  H.  H.  Horton  in  October,  1857,  and 
raised  five  children:  Williella,  who  married  Rev. 
S.  W.  Bransford,  of  the  Tennessee  Conference,  and 
has  three  children — Kate,  Ella  Horton,  and  John; 
Anna  Horton,  born  in  March,  1862  ;  Hollis  Horton, 
born  in  August,  1866;  Lawrence  Horton,  born  in 
June,  1868;  Hattie  Horton,  born  in  July,  1874. 

Clementine  M.,  daughter  of  Bartlett  and  Mary 
A.  Yeargan,  was  born  in  September,  1839;  and 
married  James  M.  Johnson  in  November,  1857. 
They  have  five  children:  Mary  Sue,  born  in  No- 
vember, 1859,  and  married  William  McMeekin  in 
November,  1884:  Delia  F.,  born  in  November, 
1861,  and  married  Prof.  William  Bryant  June  3, 
1885;  James  Jr.,  born  in  March,  1866,  and  mar- 
ried Miss  Estelle  Mangrum  in  September,  1889. 
The  last-named  couple  have  one  child:  Bernard 
Wilson. 

Benjamin  Andrew,  the  fourth  son  of  Bartlett 
Yeargan,  of  the  fourth  generation  from  Andrew, 
was  born  August  7,  1841 ;  was  a  sprightly  young 
man,  well  educated,  was  a  color  bearer  in  the 
Twentieth  Tennessee  Infantry,  Confederate  serv- 
ice, and  was  killed  in  a  battle  on  the  23d  of  June, 
1863.  At  Beech  Grove  and  around  Fairfield  in  a 
hotlv  contested  battle  the  colors  were  twice  shot 
down.  Benjamin  Yeargan  seized  them  and  bore 
them  aloft,  when  a  shell  exploded  and  took  off 
both  his  legs  above  the  knees,  the  same  shell  kill- 
ing Maj.  Claybrook,  and  De  Covington. 


CHESLEY  M.  YEARGAN,  ESQ. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


21 


Jarratt  Fletcher  Yeargan 
was  one  of  the  two  sons  of  the  original  Rev.  An- 
drew Yeargan  who  settled  at  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C. 
He  married  a  step-daughter  of  his  brother  Benja- 
min, a  Miss  Amelia  Patterson,  daughter  of  Tappley 
Patterson,  a  distinguished  soldier  who  died  of  small- 
pox at  Norfolk  during  the  Revolution  of  1776,  leav- 
ing a  widow  and  three  children — viz.,  Mann,  Page, 
and  Amelia.  The  maiden  name  of  Ta^pley  Patter- 
son's widow  was  Sarah  Morgan. 

Jarratt  Fletcher  Yeargan  married  his  brother 
Benjamin's  step-daughter,  Amelia  Patterson.  They 
raised  eight  children,  six  sons  and  two  daughters — 
viz. : 

Benjamin,  Henry  Hilary, 

Patterson,  Chesley, 
Devereux  Jarratt,  Charlotte, 
Bartlett  Wesley,  Sarah. 
Benjamin  married  and  settled  in  WestTennessee, 
thence  moved  into  Mississippi,  and  died  early,  leav- 
ing a  large  family,  one  of  whom  is  named  John 
Wesley,  now  living  in  Arkansas. 

The  second  son,  Patterson  Yeargan,  was  an  em- 
inent physician,  who  graduated  at  Baltimore  ;  mar- 
ried aMissMarthaThompson,  of  Baltimore  ;  located 
at  Princeton,  in  Misissippi;  afterward  removed  to 
Henderson,  Ky.,  where  he  lived  but  a  few  years, 
leaving  a  widow  without  heirs. 

The  third  son,  Devereux  Jarratt  Yeargan,  was 
born  April  18,  1803;  settled  in  Henderson,  Ky. ; 
married  a  Miss  Elizabeth  Talbot,  daughter  of  Dr. 


22 


The  yeargan  family. 


Edmund  Talbot.  Her  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Elizabeth  Gordon,  said  to  be  the  first  white  child 
born  in  Kentucky.  His  first  wife,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Talbot,  was  born  April  10,  1803;  anfi  died  in  her 
twenty-sixth  year,  leaving  two  children,  Andrew 
Patterson  and  John  Wesley.  Devereux  Jarratt 
Yeargan's  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Laura  Gordon 
Thompson,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife,  a  widow  with 
one  son — viz.,  E.  A.  Thompson.  She  raised  three 
Yeargan  children,  one  son  and  two  daughters — viz., 
Samuel  Devereux  Jarratt,  Elizabeth  Talbot,  and 
Lucy  Franklin.  The  first  settled  in  Henderson, 
Ky. ;  thence  to  Morgan  County,  111.,  in  the  year 
1834,  and  in  1846  moved  to  Washington  County, 
Mo.,  and  died  on  February  12,  1861 — his  widow 
some  ten  years  later. 

Andrew  Patterson,  son  of  Devereux  Jarratt  Year- 
gan, and  great-grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew,  the  origi- 
nal, was  born  July  5,  1826,  and  married  Ann  Lu- 
cinda  Westover,  and  raised  one  son,  John  Wesley, 
and  two  daughters,  Lavinia  and  Elizabeth. 

John  Wesley  Yeargan,  son  of  Devereux  Year- 
gan, of  Missouri,  and  grandson  of  Jarratt  Fletcher 
Yeargan,  and  great-grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew 
Yeargan,  went  to  California,  and  thence  to  Ore- 
gon, and  finally  returned  to  Missouri  and  married 
a  young  widow  with  two  children.  They  raised 
three  more,  two  sons  and  one  daughter,  Devereux, 
Amy,  and  John  Patterson. 

Samuel  Devereux  Jarratt  Yeargan,  brother  of 
Andrew  Patterson  Yeargan,  and  great-grandson 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


of  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  migrated  to  California 
thirty-four  years  ago,  and  was  book-keeper  at  the 
Mint  at  San  Francisco  ten  years  at  a  salary  of 
$2,500  per  year.  He  is  now  in  Washington  Ter- 
ritory. He  married  a  Miss  Emily  McBride,  and 
they  have  one  son,  named  Orville. 

The  fourth  son  of  Jarratt  Fletcher  Yeargan,  and 
grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  was  Bartlett 
Wesley  Yeargan.  He  also  settled  in  Missouri. 
His  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Buford.  She  raised  one 
son:  James  Buford.  She  died,  and  Bartlett  Wes- 
ley Yeargan  moved  to  Washington  County,  Mo., 
and  married  Miss  Loretta  Westover,  who  survives 
him.  They  raised  nine  children,  three  sons  and 
six  daughters: 

Chesley,  Amelia,  Mary, 

Calvin,  Jane,  Lucinda, 

George  Wesley,  Sarah,  Caroline. 
The  fifth  son  of  Jarratt  Fletcher  Yeargan,  and 
grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  was  Henry 
Hilary  Yeargan,  born  and  raised  at  Chapel  Hill,  N. 
C,  and  about  1835  married  Miss  Catharine  McGee, 
a  Scotch  lady,  and  raised  three  children,  Leonidas 
Hilary,  Elizabeth  A.,  and  John  W.,  losing  two, 
Maria,  first  born,  and  Chesley,  the  last  born. 
Now  this  fifth  son  of  Jarratt  Fletcher  Yeargan — 
viz.,  Henry  Hilary — was  known  far  and  wide  as  the 
"Prince  of  Merchant  Tailors  "  in  his  day  in  North 
Carolina,  in  getting  up  fashionable  outfits.  The 
rice  and  cotton  planters  of  the  coast  had  their 
summer  residences  in  this  fine,  upper  country,  and 


-4 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY71. 


were  accustomed  to  give  him  carte-blanche  to  buy 
what  he  thought  they  needed  ;  and  when  he  visited 
the  Northern  markets  he  bought  their  grass  linens, 
pongee  silks,  and  fine  French  cloths  with  their  del- 
icate shades,  always  imported,  and  which  was  left 
to  his  taste  entirely,  as  better  than  thev  could  se- 
lect for  themselves.  He  was  as  widely  known  for 
his  large  hospitality  and  liberality,  and  devotion  to 
old-fashioned  Methodism.  His  house  was  always 
open  to  ministers;  in  fact,  a  large  room  was  de- 
voted to  them  for  their  private  use  and  religious 
services.  The  admixtures  of  the  English  blood  of 
Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  and  the  Scotch-Irish  of 
Patterson,  McGee,  and  Morgan  families  were 
shown  up  most  conspicuouslv  in  blending  feature, 
tvpe,  and  symmetry  into  perfect  comeliness  in  this 
branch  of  the  family.  Henry  Hilary  Yeargan  died 
on  his  way  home  from  a  visit  to  see  his  brothers  in 
Missouri  in  1863. 

Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Yeargan  married  a  Mr.  Hug- 
gins,  and  raised  two  daughters,  Katie  and  Eugenia. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Y.  Huggins  afterward  married  a  Mr. 
Taylor.  Leonidas  Hilary,  born  about  1839,  was 
raised  in  North  Carolina,  and  at  an  earl}'  age  was 
at  Hampden-Sidnev  College,  Virginia,  joined  the 
Confederate  seryice,  and  after  the  war  came  home 
to  find  himself  without  home  or  country  and  in  a 
condition  to  begin  even  with  the  world ;  went  to 
New  York  City  and  engaged  in  business  with  A.  T. 
Stewart,  and  made  a  success;  married  a  Miss 
Fannie  Allen  at   Hawfields,  Alamance  County, 


« 


LEONIDAS  H.  YEARGAX. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


25 


N.  C,  who  only  lived  a  short  time,  leaving  five 
children — viz.:  Lonnie,  Hilary,  Allen,  Praise, 
Courtney — all  dead  except  Allen  and  Praise. 
Catherine  Praise  Yeargan  is  at  school  in  Salem, 
N.  C;  and  L.  H.  Yeargan  (their  father)  is  in 
business  in  New  York  City. 

The  third  son  of  Henry  Hilary  was  John  W.  He 
lived  to  be  grown  and  married,  and  died,  leaving 
no  heirs. 

Chesley  Yeargan,  son  of  Jarratt  F.  Yeargan, 
and  grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  was  born 
about  1814;  settled  with  his  brother  Bartlett,  in 
Missouri;  thence  in  1833  he  came  to  Bartlett  Year- 
gan's,  in  Williamson  County,  Tenn.  He  then  fi- 
nally settled  in  Henderson,  Ky.,  and  engaged  in 
business  with  Barrett  &  Bros.,  making  a  success 
in  finances,  and  married  Maria  Thompson  about 
1848,  and  died  about  1852,  leaving  no  heirs.  His 
widow  was  living  in  1887. 

Charlotte,  the  seventh  child,  married  Samuel 
Couch. 

Sarah  Yeargan,  the  eighth  child  of  Jarratt  F. 
Yeargan,  was  adopted  by  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Sallie 
Alston,  who  was  the  only  daughter  and  heir  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Yeargan,  who  had  married  Mr.  Thomas 
Alston,  who  managed  to  dispossess  Sarah  Year- 
gan of  her  aunt's  large  property,  as  her  aunt  was 
childless.  She,  Sarah  Yeargan,  married  Col.  W. 
K.  Martin,  and  raised  three  daughters  and  two 
sons:  Veritas,  Sarah,  Macon,  Robert,  and  Thom- 
as.   Veritas  married  a  Mr.  Sanders,  and  is  now  a 


26 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


widow  with  one  son,  Simon  S.,  living  in  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C. 

Virginia  Group. 

Williams  Yeargan,  son  of  Rev.  Andrew  Year- 
gan,  who  lived  and  died  in  Brunswick  County, 
Virginia,  married  a  Miss  Bennett.  His  first  son, 
John,  was  born  in  1796,  and  married  a  Miss  Judith 
Bennett,  of  North  Carolina,  and  raised  by  his  first 
and  second  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Martha 
Foster,  having  first  married  a  Mr.  Oates,  the  fol- 
lowing named  children: 

Rebecca,  married  Henry  Carter,  of  Tennessee. 

Ann,  married  Lewis  Dillingham. 

Elizabeth,  died  in  her  seventeenth  year. 

Catherine,  married  William  Stites. 

James  A.  Yeargan,  of  Nashville,  married  Miss 
Louisa  Carter,  Minor. 

Judith,  married  William  Bennett. 

Narcissa,  married  James  Bradley,  of  Kentucky. 

William  A.,  married  Lucy  White,  of  Tennessee. 

Wesley  Carroll,  married  Miss  Oates,  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

Mary  Jane,  married  Ephraim  Dillingham,  of 
Kentucky. 

Louisa,  married  Scott  Briggs,  of  Kentucky. 

Susan,  married  Charles  Coleman,  of  Kentucky. 

James  Yeargan,  the  second  son  of  Williams 
Yeargan,  and  grandson  of  Andrew  Yeargan,  mar- 
ried first  a  Miss  Griffith,  and  raised  by  her  Robert 
Yeargan,  born  April  19,  1824.  Robert  Yeargan 
married  a  Miss  Vick,  and  raised  one  daughter, 


MISS  C.  PRAISE  YEARGAN,  DAUGHTER  OF  L.  H.  YEARGAN. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


27 


Helen,  who  married  a  Mr.  Fantleroy.  The  four 
named  below  are  the  Griffith  children  : 

Andrew  J.  Yeargan,  married  Tabitha  Roberson. 

Sampson  Yeargan,  married  a  Miss  Vick. 

Tabitha,  married  Isaac  Cooper. 

His  second  wife,  whose  name  was  Preston,  raised 
four  children — viz.: 

H.  J.  Yeargan,  married  Miss  R.  Hayse. 

Anderson,  died  of  small-pox  during  the  war  in 

1863. 

John  F.  Yeargan,  married  a  Miss  Turner. 

C.  T.  Yeargan,  married  a  Miss  Rutland. 

Philip,  third  son  of  Williams  Yeargan,  who  set- 
tled in  Ohio,  raised  two  sons,  John  and  Riley,  and 
two  daughters,  Rebecca  and  Samantha.  Philip's 
second  wife  raised  three  daughters  and  one  son. 

Bennett  Yeargan,  fourth  son  of  Williams  Year- 
gan, and  grandson  of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan, 
married  a  Miss  Frankie  Scott,  and  raised  one 
daughter,  Susan,  who  married  John  Durham.  Her 
second  husband  was  William  Warmick. 

South  Carolina  Group. 

"Go  to  Yongan  and  fetch  me  a  stoup  of  ale."  (See  Hamlet, 
Act  V.,  Shakespeare.) 

I  now  proceed  to  notice  the  South  Carolina  group 
of  Yeargans.  Some  of  the  same  families  spell  their 
names  differently — namely,  the  original  Andrew 
Yeargan  spelled  his  name  "  Y-e-a-r-g-a-n,"  his  son 
Benjamin  spelled  his  "  Y-e-a-r-g-a-i-n,"  and  his 
son  Bartlett  spelled  his  "  Y-e-a-r-g-i-n.' '   The  two 


28 


THE  YEARGAX  FAMILY. 


North  Carolina  brothers.  Benjamin  and  Jarratt  F., 
and  their  descendants  spell  their  name  like  the 
original  Andrew  Yeargan.  as  published  in  the 
Minutes  of  the  first  Methodist  Conference  held  in 
Philadelphia  in  June.  1773.  The  writers  of  these 
memoirs  have  in  their  possession  the  Minutes  of 
the  early  Conferences  held  from  the  beo-innino-  of 
the  Weslevan  Societies  up  to  1813.* 

On  January  1.  1890.  I  received  a  letter  from  J. 
T.  Yeargan.  of  Eastland.  Eastland  County.  Tex., 
who  states  that  his  father  was  Rufus  Yeargan,  his 
grandfather  was  Devereux.  and  that  Devereux 
Yeargan  was  known  to  be  the  son  of  Rev.  Andrew 
Yeargan.  according  to  the  information  of  Gideon 
Yeargan,  the  oldest  and  only  living  grandson  of  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan. 

J.  T.  Yeargan  reports  that  his  grandfather,  Dev- 
ereux Yeargan.  had  live  sons: 

And  rew.  Rufus, 

Benjamin,  A  Villi  am. 

Steven. 

The  first  four  are  dead.  William  migrated  to 
Illinois.  Rufus  his  father  (  T.  J.  Yeargan' s 
father);  married  an  Austin.  Gen.  James  McDaniel, 
his  grandfather  on  his  mother's  side,  was  a  distin- 
guished general  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  All  of 
these  families  were  originally  from  Virginia. 

Rufus  Yeargan.  son  of  Devereux  Yeargan,  raised 
the  following1  children: 


*  Minutes  of  some  conversations  between  the  preachers  in 
connection  with  Mr.  John  Wesley. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


29 


Mary  P.  Robertson,  Jane, 

James,  Josie, 

Devereux,  Benjamin, 

William,  J.  T. 


Gideon  Yeargan,  who  now  lives  in  Laurens 
County,  S.  C,  was  born  in  181 2,  which  makes  him 
seventy-nine  years  of  age  (in  1891).  He  is  the 
oldest  representative  of  the  family.  His  father, 
Bartlett  Yeargan,  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Andrew. 

Gideon's  father  settled  in  Greenville,  S.  C,  and 
raised  a  family  of  eight  children,  five  boys  and  three 
girls.    The  sons'  names  were: 

Benjamin,  Bartlett, 

William,  Gideon. 

Jarratt, 

Gideon  Yeargan,  son  of  Bartlett  Yeargan,  and 
grandson  of  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  was  born 
November  24,  1812,  in  Greenville  County,  S.  C. 
His  life  and  character  stand  out  prominently  as 
setting  forth  every  Christian  grace.  He  was 
married  December  27,  1842,  to  Ann  Coker,  of 
Laurens  County,  S.  C.  In  1856  they  moved  from 
Greenville  to  Laurens  County,  where  they  now 
live  in  happiness  and  comfort,  surrounded  by  his 
children,  all  happy  and  prosperous.  Perhaps  no 
man  in  Laurens  County  has  so  fine  a  reputation 
as  that  grand  old  man.  Truly  it  may  be  said  that 
elements  are  so  mixed  in  him  that  the  whole  world 
might  stand  and  say:  "  This  is  a  man  kind,  gen- 
erous, foremost  in  every  good  cause.  He  is 
loved,  honored,  and  admired  by  saint  and  sinner. 


30 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  this  magnificent 
Christian  gentleman.  Gideon  Yeargan  and  wife, 
Ann  Coker,  had  fourteen  children,  whose  fami- 
lies are  given  as  follows: 

Robert  H.,  oldest  son  of  Gideon,  was  born  No- 
vember 15,   1843.    He  was  married  to  Fannie 
Wallace  February  1,  1866.    Their  children  are: 
Mary  L.,  Gideon, 
Willis  W.,  Marvin, 
LilaM.,  Myrtle  F., 

Josie  C,  Mavina  A., 

Beatrice,  R.  Eugene. 

Mary  L.,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Robert  H., 
graduated  with  highest  honor  from  Columbia  Fe- 
male College  in  1885.  She  at  once  took  a  posi- 
tion as  teacher  in  her  Alma  Mater,  which  she  held 
for  three  years,  and  since  then  has  taught  in  Lees- 
ville  College  for  young  men  and  young  women. 
In  1891  she  was  appointed  by  Governor  Tillman 
as  one  of  a  commission  of  three  to  find  out  the 
requirements  of  a  State  industrial  school  for  girls, 
and  had  some  prominence  as  an  institute  teacher, 
an  elocutionist. 

Lila  M.,  second  daughter  of  Robert  H.,  grad- 
uated from  Columbia  Female  College,  South  Car- 
olina, in  1887.    She  is  also  a  teacher. 

Josie  C,  third  daughter  of  Robert  H.,  is  a 
graduate  from  Leesville  College,  South  Carolina. 

Gideon  Yeargan's  second  child,  Sallie  A.,  born 
June  10,  1845,  was  teacher  for  several  years;  and 
on  January  25,  1877,  sne  was  married  to  Robert 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY.  3 1 

Hellams.  They  have  three  children:  Mary  E., 
Gideon  Y.,  and  Annie  Florence. 

Mahala  M.  Yeargan,  third  child  of  Gideon, 
was  born  June  I,  1847.  She  was  married  to  Wil- 
lis H.  Hellams  December  10,  1868.  They  have 
three  children,  two  infants  who  died  very  small. 
Minnie  F.,  who  graduated  in  Columbia  Female 
College  in  June,  1886,  was  married  to  Marcus  L. 
Patterson,  December  26,  1889.  They  have  one 
child:  Minnie  Louise  P. 

Ony  P.  Yeargan,  daughter  of  Gideon,  born  Au- 
gust 21,  1848,  was  married  to  G.  W.  Brownlee 
September  8,  1870.    They  have  six  children: 
Thomas  Gideon,  Sallie  E., 

Robert  L.,  George  W., 

Annie  L.,  Hattie  L. 

Mattie  M.  Yeargan,  daughter  of  Gideon,  born 
May  29,  1850,  was  married  to  W.  Collier  Currey 
December  19,  1872.    They  have  six  children: 
Festa  Y.,  Wray  Eldridge, 

Nellie  C,  Gideon  H., 

J.  Alvin,  W.  Clyde. 

Gideon  H.  Curry  died  March  7,  1881. 
M.  Eliza  Yeargan,  daughter  of  Gideon  Year- 
gan, was  born  June  15,  1852.    She  was  married 
to  Robert  J.  Taylor  September  17,  1874.    ^n  this 
family  are  six  children  : 

Samuel  L.,  John  Yeargan, 

William  Gideon,  Susan  M., 

R.  James,  One  died  an  infant. 


32 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


M.  Eliza  Yeargan,  the  mother  of  these  children, 
died  in  great  peace  and  heavenly  joy  April  14, 
1883.  Her  life  was  a  light  to  all  who  came  under 
her  influence. 

F.  Isabella,  daughter  of  Gideon,  was  born  May 
9,  1854.  She  was  married  to  W.  Butler  Garrett 
December  23, 1875.   They  have  six  children — viz. : 

Annie  M.,  Earnest  Miles, 

Nannie  E.,  William  B., 

Charles  Gideon,  Hattie. 

Hattie,  the  third  daughter,  died  in  1883. 

Hattie  E.,  daughter  of  Gideon  Yeargan,  was 
born  October  14,  1855.  She  was  married  to  W. 
H.  Ariail,  of  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  De- 
cember 17,  1878.   They  have  four  children — viz.: 

Bessie,  William  Coke, 

Claudius  Herbert,  D.  Marvin. 

Claudius  Herbert  died  in  1883. 

Mrs.  Hattie  Ariail,  after  months  of  great  suffer- 
ing, died  August  1,  1886.  Among  the  wives  of  the 
South  Carolina  ministers  none  were  more  highly 
respected  than  this  noble  Christian  lady.  She  died 
as  she  had  lived,  triumphantly  trusting  in  Jesus. 

Mays  Y.,  daughter  of  Gideon  Yeargan,  was 
born  April  27,  1857.  She  was  married  to  Lewis 
Abercrombie  December  27,  1879.  They  have 
five  children — viz.: 

Leucretia,  Gideon  Herbert, 

Annie,  Lewis  Clarance. 

Claudius, 


THE   YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


33 


Claudius  died  in  1884. 

Emma,  daughter  of  Gideon  Yeargan,  was  born 
April  25,  1859.  She  was  married  to  John  A.  Taylor 
December  24,  1879.  They  have  three  children: 
S.  Annie,  Ida  E.,  and  Benjamin  Gideon. 

J.  William,  son  of  Gideon  Yeargan,  was  born 
December  15,  i860;  and  was  married  to  Clara  S. 
Shell  March  1,  1883.  They  have  three  children 
— viz.:  Addie  M.,  Thomas  Henry,  William  H. 

Ida,  daughter  of  Gideon,  was  born  April  9, 
1862.  She  was  married  to  A.  McDuff  Curry 
December  24,  1884.    They  have  no  children. 

Samuel  Y.  was  born  April  28,  1864;  and  died 
July  7,  1865. 

Addie  F.  daughter  of  Gideon  Yeargan,  was 
born  January  28,  1866;  and  died  April  4,  1884. 
Her  life  was  beautifully  unselfish,  and  her  dying 
testimony  left  no  doubt  as  to  her  entrance  into 
the  glory  land.  Gideon  Yeargan' s  family  are  set- 
tled within  a  few  miles  of  the  old  homestead, 
South  Carolina.  All  are  Christians,  and  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Church,  except  one  family 
who  are  Presbyterians. 

The  character  of  Gideon  Yeargz'n,  as  they  now 
spell  their  names,  seems  to  be  indelibly  stamped 
upon  the  whole  family,  and  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions his  children  and  grandchildren  are  following 
his  example.  Since  writing  up  the  memoirs,  quite 
recently,  this  renowned  patriarch  has  been  called 
from  labor  to  rest.  On  October  30,  1891,  after  a 
protracted  illness,  he  died  in  great  peace,  exhorting 
3 


34 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


his  large  family  and  numerous  friends  to  trust  in 
God.    He  was  78  years,  11  months,  and  6  days  old. 

Andrew  Yeargan,  son  of  the  Rev.  Andrew,  the 
original,  settled  in  South  Carolina,  raised  two  chil- 
dren, and  died  in  that  State.    Their  identity  is  lost. 

Rev.  John  Yeargan,  one  of  the  ten  sons  of  the 
original  Andrew,  was  born  and  raised  in  North 
Carolina,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  for  Independ- 
ence, was  in  two  noted  battles,  Cowpens  and  King's 
Mountain.  He  was  a  Methodist  preacher,  lived 
many  years,  and  died  and  was  buried  in  Newbury 
County,  S.  C,  at  the  old  Hopewell  Church  and 
school  of  that  name.  He  raised  two  sons.  John 
and  Wiley.  John  settled  in  South  Carolina,  mar- 
ried, and  raised  no  children,  was  a  Methodist  and 
a  farmer,  and  lived  to  be  sixty-seven  years  of  age, 
and  was  buried  in  Laurens  County.  S.  C. 

Wilev,  the  brother  of  John,  and  son  of  the  Rev. 
John,  and  grandson  of  the  Rev.  Andrew,  married 
Miss  Nancy  Morgan.  He  was  born  in  1798,  and 
died  in  November,  1864.  Wiley  and  wife  settled 
in  Cherokee  County,  Ala.,  and  raised  eight  sons, 
one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Three  died  from 
sickness,  and  one  from  a  wound  in  the  late  war. 
All  four  were  soldiers,  and  died  in  the  Confeder- 
ate army.    The  names  of  their  children  are: 

John.  Albert.  Perry. 

These  are  in  California. 

Henrv,  Bartlett. 
Milton.  William. 
These  four  were  lost  in  the  Confederate  service. 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


35 


John  Yeargan,  son  of  Wiley,  is  also  a  Methodist 
minister.  He  is  a  great-grandson  of  the  original 
Andrew,  and  is  now  living  in  Fresno,  Cal.  He  is 
sixty  years  of  age — was  born  April  25,  1830.  His 
first  wife  was  Eleanor  Miller.  She  raised  nine 
children.   Five  of  them  are  dead,  four  living — viz. : 

Lizzie  McWhorton,  Robert  Lee, 

Sallie  Atkinson,  Nellie. 

The  last  named  is  a  graduate,  and  in  her  seven- 
teenth year.  His  first  wife  died  June  3,  1884.  His 
second  wife  was  Mrs.  Ruth  Lee.  She  only  lived 
about  fourteen  months  after  her  marriage.  His  two 
oldest  daughters  married  Methodist  ministers. 

Samuel,  son  of  the  original  Rev.  Andrew,  settled 
and  married  in  Newbury  County,  S.  C. ;  removed 
to  Franklin  County,  Ga.  Nothing  of  him  or  his 
descendants  are  known  in  the  Yeargan  family, 
except  his  daughter  Sallie,  who  married  Thomas 
Alston,  of  North  Carolina.    She  had  no  heirs. 

Edward  Yeargan,  son  of  the  original  Andrew, 
married  in  Newbury  County,  S.  C. ;  raised  a  large 
family  of  children.  Edward  and  his  wife  were 
killed  by  lightning.  Have  no  clue  as  to  the  chil- 
dren. Their  death  occurred  in  Anderson  County, 
S.  C,  where  he  had  finally  settled. 

James  Yeargan,  son  of  the  original  Rev.  Andrew 
Yeargan,  was  a  bachelor,  and  died  at  his  brother 
Devereux's,  in  Greenville  County,  S.  C,  and  was 
buried  at  the  old  burying  ground  in  Greenville, 
where  his  father,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Yeargan,  and 
wife    were    buried.    Sarah    Yeargan,  the  only 


36 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


daughter  of  the  Reverend  Andrew  Yeargan  the  or- 
iginal, married  Mr.  Burrell  Hudson,  and  raised  a 
large  family  of  children. 

James  Yeargain. 

My  father  and  mother  were  from  Botetourt, 
Va.  My  father's  name  was  James  Yeargain,  and 
my  mother's  maiden  name  was  Nancy  Steele. 
They  married  in  Virginia,  and  emigrated  to  Wil- 
son County,  Tenn.,  in  1830.  This  union  resulted 
in  a  family  of  four  children — namely: 

Mary  S.,  born  December,  1828. 

George  W.,  born  January,  1830. 

John  W.,  born  February  25,  183 1. 

C.  Elizabeth,  born  February,  1836. 

After  my  mother's  death,  my  father  married 
again  and  raised  several  children,  of  which  I  know 
nothing,  as  I  left  home  to  live  in  Alabama  with  my 
uncle,  George  M.  Steele.  After  living  with  him 
in  Huntsville  about  fifteen  years,  I  went  to  Canton, 
Miss.,  where  I  remained  until  the  war.  I  then 
went  into  the  army  one  year,  as  lieutenant  in  the 
Madison  Rifles,  Tenth  Mississippi  Regiment,  and 
then  to  Virginia  with  light  artillery  and  remained 
in  the  army  of  Northern  and  Western  Virginia 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  I  was  present  at  Gen. 
Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox  C.  H.,  since  which 
time  I  have  not  heard  of  my  father,  or  any  one  of 
his  last  wife's  children.  December  10,  1868,  I 
married  a  Miss  Kate  Coulter,  of  Mississippi,  and 
have  raised  six  children,  all  of  them  now  living 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


37 


with  me  in  New  Orleans.  Their  names  and  ages 
are  as  follows: 

Henry  Coulter,  born  September  25,  1869. 

Angelo  Steele,  born  January  2,  1872. 

Solomon  Coulter,  born  January  28,  1874. 

Eliza,  born  October  26,  1875. 

Lena,  born  March  4,  1877. 

As  given  under  my  hand, 

John  W.  Yeargain. 

333  Magazine  Street,  New  Orleans,  La. 

Now,  in  conclusion,  we  find  that  the  identity  of 
some  of  the  grandchildren  of  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Yeargan's  family  cannot,  in  a  few  instances,  be 
fully  recognized,  one  of  whom  was  John  Yeargan, 
born  about  1769.  In  early  manhood  he  came  from 
Eastern  Virginia,  and  settled  in  Charlottesville,  Va. 
He  soon  became  a  noted  leader  of  society  of  that 
day,  which  was  very  gay.  He  was  particularly 
distinguished  for  his  attention  to  dress  and  love  of 
dancing.  He  had  a  variety  of  suits,  and  generally 
appeared  in  silk  stockings,  buckskin  knee  pants, 
and  silver  buckles  on  his  shoes,  as  was  the  fashion 
of  that  day,  and  wherever  a  dance  or  a  ball  was 
gotten  up,  Johnnie  Yeargan  was  indispensable  and 
a  leading  spirit;  was  often  for  this  purpose  sent 
for  from  a  distance,  and  always  carried  his  musi- 

Note. — The  authors  of  these  memoirs  are  satisfied  that  this 
family  and  that  the  name  Yeargan,  Yearg/n,  Yeargc?m  are  one 
and  the  same  family,  and  all  are  descendants  of  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Yeargan  and  wife,  Ony  Bowles,  as  before  mentioned. 

H.  H.  L.  Yeargan,  M.D. 

Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 


38 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


cians  with  him.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  the 
celebrated  Thomas  Jefferson  played  the  riddle  with 
his  orchestra.  Mr.  Jefferson  is  known  to  fame  as 
the  author  of  an  historic  paper,  called  the  "k  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  "  and  for  many  subsequent 
achievements  of  statesmanship,  but  was  morbidly 
anxious  to  be  considered  a  musician  and  violinist; 
and  when  Monticello.  his  country  residence, 
burned  down,  he  saved  his  riddle  at  great  exertions, 
and  was  very  proud  of  it.  Yeargan  was  at  that  time 
engaged  in  business,  groceries  and  sadlery,  the  lat- 
ter a  leading  business  then,  horseback  riding  being 
the  general  mode  for  travel.  This  section  of  Vir- 
ginia was  always  noted  for  the  beautv  of  its  women. 
Johnnie  Yeargan  was  engaged  to  one  of  these  fair 
daughters.  One  day  the  village  gossips  saw  these 
lovers  meet  and  exchange  a  few  words  of  conversa- 
tion. Nothing  was  ever  known  of  its  purport,  and 
as  both  parties  lived  for  more  than  fifty  Years  in  the 
same  neighborhood,  and  finally  died  and  were  buried 
in  the  same  graveyard,  this  reticence  was  most 
remarkable.  Immediatelv  after  the  conversation 
alluded  to,  Johnnie  Yeargan  sold  out  his  store 
and  retired  to  a  private  dwelling,  and  became  a 
self-immolated  city  hermit.  He  then  closed  his  doors 
and  windows  and  stretched  a  chain  across  the  in- 
side of  his  front  door,  which  was  seldom  drawn 
aside  only  on  business  emergencies,  and  then  con- 
fined himself  mostly  to  the  purchase  and  sale  of 
domestic  liquors,  wines,  and  cordials,  which  were 
plentifully  made  in  that  country,  and  were  brought 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY. 


39 


to  him  by  the  farmers  and  mountaineers,  and  rolled 
into  his  cellar,  marked  and  dated  when  received, 
as  he  never  sold  them  under  seven  years  of 
age  from  time  of  making.  This  soon  gave  him  a 
reputation  for  a  great  distance,  and  his  house 
became  a  resort  for  the  purchase  of  fine  unadul- 
terated liquors.  To  get  these  purchases,  the  ap- 
plicant would  rap  at  the  window,  present  his  vessels 
and  the  money,  which  was  always  received  either 
in  gold  or  silver.  Johnnie  Yeargan  would  fill  the 
vessel,  return  it  to  the  owner  at  the  window,  and  re- 
mark that  the  purchaser  had  his  purchase  and  that 
he  had  the  money.  On  some  occasions  he  would 
present  the  purchaser  with  some  fine  drink  of  wine 
or  cordial.  In  this  business  he  accumulated  a  large 
amount  of  gold  and  silver,  and  kept  up  this  secluded 
life  for  over  fifty  years,  though  his  opinion  was  oc- 
casionally sought  by  his  fellow-citizens  in  times  of 
great  political  excitement,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
second  canvass  of  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson.  He 
gave  a  decided  opinion  in  favor  of  Gen.  Jackson, 
and  asserted  that  he  was  the  greatest  President  the 
country  had  had  since  Washington. 

In  February,  1839,  ^e  nac^  not  t>een  seen  about 
his  premises  for  several  davs.  Some  one  forced 
an  entrance  into  his  house,  and  found  the  body 
prone  on  his  face,  having  been  dead  over  two  days. 
A  number  of  good  books  were  found  with  which 
he  solaced  his  retirement.  Jars  of  silver  and  gold 
were  found  in  the  room  and  buried  in  the  cellar, 
and  parties  were  digging  for  weeks  afterward  hunt- 


THE  YEARGAN  FAMILY'. 


ing  his  treasures.  The  county  appointed  an  ad- 
ministrator, one  William  Lee.  The  schedule  of 
his  estate  is  spread  on  the  books  of  the  County 
Court  Clerk.  No  record  is  made  as  to  who  re- 
ceived, or  as  to  what  disposition  was  made  of  as 
much  of  the  estate  as  was  administered  on.  John- 
nie Yeargan's  memory  is  one  of  the  legends  and 
traditions  of  Charlottesville,  Va.  The  popular 
tradition  is  that  many  jars  of  his  gold  and  silver 
were  dug  up  and  appropriated  bv  unknown  parties. 
J^jiien  sabef 

Characteristics  of  the  Yeargax  Family. 

Methodistic.  bv  large  majority. 
Prolihcness,  large  families. 

Migratoriness.  being  found  in  fifteen  different 
States. 

Longevity,  several  deaths  over  ninety. 

Gregariousness,  brothers  marrying  in  the  same 
family  and  living  in  groups. 

An  exquisite  sensitiveness,  modesty,  and  pride. 
All  they  have  to  ask  of  Alexander,  being:  "To 
get  out  of  their  sunshine"  Impatient  to  impracti- 
cability. Leoxidas  Hilary  Yeargax, 

Xo.  60  John  Street,  N.  Y.; 

Hilary  H.  L.  Yeargax,  M.D.. 

Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 


\ 


I 

I 


y &  S*c  /^}    ,  ^^—7  AL^^l. 


